Daniel Dubois completed his latest resurgence with brutal efficiency when he became the WBO world heavyweight champion after stopping Fabio Wardley early in the 11th round of a dramatic and blood-soaked contest. Howard Foster, whose pale blue shirt had turned crimson as if he worked in an abattoir rather than in a boxing ring as a referee, jumped between the courageous fighters to rescue Wardley 28 seconds into the penultimate round.
It was a merciful stoppage because the fallen champion, with his face a mask of blood pouring from his badly cut and broken nose, had been examined twice before by the ringside doctor. Both fighters emerged with enormous credit after an epic battle.
Donald McRae is ringside in Manchester and there’s no hint of Guardian bias when I say I cannot think of a writer more appropriate to make sense of the madness I just watched unfold.
His report has landed and I will leave you to read it. Which is exactly what I will be doing. Thanks for following the fight with us.
Can’t be doing with the talk of what’s next for either combatant just yet – let them both rest.
That said, it does shake up Britain’s remarkable heavyweight scene, which right now has five boxers who could easily be in any world top 10. For my money, after tonight, the Brits would rank something like: 1) Tyson Fury, 2) Daniel Dubois, 3) Fabio Wardley, 4) Moses Itauma, 5) Anthony Joshua … but Itauma might well be the most gifted of the lot. Just needs the fights to prove it.
Time to end the questions about Dubois’ fighting spirit,of course. Perhaps getting outboxed is actually more difficult for Dubois to take than being thumped? He relished the firefight and was gracious in his words about Fabio Wardley post-fight.
Not to be lost in the carnage, the chaos: Daniel Dubois has won a version of the heavyweight title for the second time. After he was sat on his backside in the opening 10 seconds!
How he reversed his fortunes from there, especially after another knockdown in round three, is scarcely believable. He arguably won every round in which he wasn’t knocked down – but there was some serious back-and-forth along the way.
Fabio Wardley is shown post-fight, reassuring his family that he is OK. “I’m all right, I’m all right,” he repeats, with clear eyes.
I seriously hope that he is. Not to be a killjoy but that spectacle became tough to watch at the end. Wardley should’ve been saved from his own bravery. You simply cannot start a round swaying, barely able to stand, as Wardley was at the beginning of round 10. The referee should’ve called it there and we’d still be taking about an all-time great fight.
Remarkable show of durability and heart by both boxers, of course.
“Fabio Wardley’s chin deserves a knighthood,” says Darren Barker. Carl Frampton, another former world champion, is equally in awe of the epic scrap – although he describes it as “sickening” watching Wardley stumble into the fray at the end.
I concur, the referee or his corner should have stepped in before the 10th round, at least.
Maybe they were swayed by the boos of the crowd when Wardley was being inspected – or it was simply that Wardley kept on landing, somehow, someway, even while he was getting pummelled by Dubois.
So, an 11-round Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns? A heavyweight version of Diego Corrales-José Luis Castillo or Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward? A real-life Rocky Balboa-Ivan Drago?
You name it. That epic see-saw slugfest is simply one of the most remarkable, action-packed, intense boxing contests of all time.
I just hope both men, who showed such unreal heart, are relatively undamaged. Unhurt is impossible. Fabio Wardley’s face was a state, it was hard to see. How did he not go down after 10+ round of Dubois’ heavy, clubbing blows.
Fabio Wardley swings and tries to connect with Daniel Dubois. Photograph: Dave Thompson/AP
“The best heavyweight fight I’ve ever put on,” says Frank Warren – and for once a boxing promoter may not be exaggerating.
“Fabio, he’s not going away – he will be back. These are two brave, gutsy men. What an unbeliebable fight.”
He mentions a rematch clause in the contract. Steady on, Frank. These boys deserve a long, long rest.
“That was a war, thank you Fabio,” says a victorious Daniel Dubois. “I know I’ve got heart – I’m a warrior … early it was just flash knockdowns. I had to get back to my boxing.
“What a battle, man. He’s a durable guy, he’s a warrior – it was an honour to be in the ring with him.”
Dubois defeats Wardley by 11th-round knockout!
Two early thumping blows by Daniel Dubois has Fabio Wardley reeling once more – and Howard Foster finally steps in at the very start of the round. What a jaw-dropping fight. Dubois is the new WBO heavyweight champion.
I cannot believe that contest. It seems an age since Dubois was knocked down twice in the first three rounds. He produced a stunning turnaround but Wardley’s astonishing courage is also the story of a brutal, remarkable bout.
Daniel Dubois lands a shot of Fabio Wardley. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
Daniel Dubois his celebrates victory with the WBO strap behind him. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Getty Images
“Save the man, he’s a father, he’s got a family – pull the plug on this one now,” implores Darren Barker between rounds. I agree. Fabio Wardley somehow goes on.
Round 10
Fabio Wardley tries to start the round but he’s swaying, he’s barely able to stand, before a punch is even thrown. Should the corner throw in the towel there? Howard Foster – his referee shirt soaked with blood – is having a good look but letting it go on. But it’s getting hard to watch now.
Wardley, miraculously, is still throwing but a more measured Dubois is pressing and landing punches. “I have never seen a tougher man, this is insane,” says Carl Frampton who’s calling for trainer Ben Davison to throw the towel in. I agree.
Fabio Wardley’s nose gets a medical inpsection right at the start of the round. I am no doctor, but it is a mess. He’s allowed to fight on, showing spectacular bravery, but this may be his final throw of the dice. Wardly lands one good left hook and Dubois – who’s thrown so many heavy punches – is breathing heavily but is still pressing forwards. “Oh Fabio Wardley,” cry the crowd as he gamely keeps throwing punches.
Dubois ships a huge straight round from Wardley! Dubois fires back! A Wardley uppercut! Dubois lands a clubbing right hand that has Wardley reeling on the ropes. How do you even score that round? It was like a Rocky fight.
Dubois cannot miss with the one-two through the guard. I say guard, but Wardley’s fists are often down by his waist as Dubois motors forward, closing the distance with his feet. Wardley’s right eye is closing along with the bloody nose. He’s not slipping many. But Wardley is still looking to catch Dubois coming in. Wardley rolls backwards after another ramrod Dubois jab. What does Wardley have left? He’s showing superhuman courage and durability in there.
The blood is streaming down Wardley’s face. He’s greeted by a hammering right hand by Dubois to start the round. Dubois is boxing beautifully, throwing one-twos right though Wardley’s guard. But Wardley is standing up to it somehow. His legs look wobbly but he’s still swinging back. A thumping straight right hand lands flush on Wardley! Once more he eats it. Wow – now Fabio lands two tremendous uppercuts on Dubois! He takes them, but they were serious shots. They’re both exchanging blows.
Howard Foster cannot hear the bell among the commotion, he jumps in slightly early to end the round prematurely. This is utter carnage.
We get a pre-round replay of Don Charles, Dubois’ trainer, slapping his charge between rounds earlier in the contest. We wouldn’t suggest it as a standard workplace motivation tactic but it’s had the desired impact – Dubois is sustaining his attacks on this round. Wardley is on the ropes, shipping right hands and a mean left hook to complement the jab.
Wardley’s nose is bloodied and he’s rocking at the end of the round! How is he still on his feet?! The pair exchange haymakers to end the round! Some chin of Wardley – what an astonishing fight.
Dubois lands a jab that snaps Wardley’s head back. Wardley’s own jab is having success; measuring the distance for his right hand even if it isn’t as powerful as Daniel’s. Dubois is on the offensive in this round though, pressing the action. Wardley’s gumshield falls out with 33 seconds left in the round after another jolting jab and the referee replaces it. Dubois goes straight in with a left hook to the body! The momentum has really switched (for now) with Dubois coming on strong.
Darren Barker acutely points out that Dubois is so much better with his footwork … when he is on his feet, of course.
An early clash of heads earns a stern rebuke from Howard Foster. Dubois lands a clubbing right hand that stiffens Wardley’s legs in the second minute! He’s boxing well in this round – both men look wide open to each others’ blows. They’re really committing with their punches. Yet Wardley is so far taking the heavy blows better. This is an absolute slugfest and no mistake.
Dubois goes down again! Halfway through round three, Wardley lands another thumping right hand to the top of the head – Dubois skittles backwards on shaky legs then collapses. He’s up again but he looks wide open for the champion’s punches. Dubois gets up again and, once more, manages to return fire, landing one blow which definitely catches Wardley and he knows about it. Dubois makes it through the round; Don Charles in his corner pleads with his charge to use his jab.
Daniel Dubois on the canvas. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
Round 2
Dubois does what he should have done in round one and looks to get his jab going and lands a few stiff ones. He fires in some accurate shots, moves a bit better, and a stalking Wardley is unable to capitalise on his round-one success. This is predictably tense and breathless stuff.
What an opener! Dubois is knocked down after 10 seconds. A Wardley roundhouse right clips the top of Dubois’ head and he’s sat on the canvas. He actually gets up and looks – relatively – unshaken, firing back. They both collapse in a heap halfway through the round as they grappled in a clinch.
Wardley looked sharp with his punches throughout though, Dubois is up against it already, though he did well to survive round one.
Daniel Dubois is down inside the first 15 seconds!
The opening bell
The ring announcements are made. Both have their game faces on. Howard Foster reads the instructions and they touch gloves … ding-ding!
Fabio Wardley prowls the stage, a mean look on his mug. It’s a boxer’s nose, isn’t it? Not that I’d say that to his face. His tune of ring-walk choice is some ominous hip-hop, which I don’t know because I’m seriously out of touch. Quite catchy though.
The WBO champ raises a fist to the fans before he steps through the ropes and into the ring.
Update: Tony ‘cooler than me’ Garvey emails to say it’s “Can’t Be Touched (feat. Trouble Tha Truth & 2piece) by Body Head Bangerz”. Thanks, Tony – a banger, indeed.
Daniel Dubois, as the challenger, emerges first. His face never never gives a lot away. “What a Man” by Linda Lyndell blares out, followed by some reggae beats. Nice.
Sweet Caroline is blaring. So good, so good, so good? You decide. Daniel Dubois is strolling out of his dressing room and his ring-walk will begin any minute now.
Moses Itauma, the 21-year-old heavyweight star prospect, is ringside. “It’s not about me tonight, it’s about Fabio Wardley tonight – he’s going to get the W,” says Itauma. “This fight isn’t going to go the distance either.”
He’s Wardley’s gym-mate so hardly a surprising prediction. With the victor owning the WBO title, he’ll have that man in his sights.
Noel Gallagher is ringside, bet he didn’t pay dynamic pricing for that prime ticket. The DJ at a packed Co-op Live in Manchester puts on Live Forever – that’s either expert timing or a perfect coincidence.
We’ll be getting the heavyweight ring-walks at any moment.
Noel Gallagher at the Co-op Live. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
Question: if we assume that Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua are diminished from their devastating peaks, are Wardley and Dubois the most dangerous punchers in the heavyweight division? And therefore the heaviest hitters in the sport?
There’s an argument for it. (I say, immediately ensuring a 12-round hugfest with no knockdowns.)
Rafferty defeats Essuman by sixth-round retirement!
The unbeaten welterweight Jack Rafferty defeats former British champion Ekow Essuman in a one-sided bout.
Essuman’s corner called the stoppage, throwing in the towel after six rounds – their man was badly cut and shipping a lot of punishment. A well-timed move from the corner, it was one-way traffic and Rafferty produced a career-best display. The local lad looks perfectly delighted in pink post-fight.
That’s the final undercard bout! The main event is next …
Jack Rafferty goes on the attack against Ekow Essuman. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA
Jack Rafferty is pleased with his display. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Prediction time! The only big favourite in Wardley-Dubois is that it doesn’t reach the final bell: the bookies can hardly split the pair.
For what it’s worth, I reckon the 31-year-old Wardley, who has this uncanny ability to ride punches and get stronger as a fight goes on, has an edge. Dubois doesn’t have a poor chin, the 28-year-old just hasn’t always shown the incredible mental fortitude of his foe.
That said, Dubois is simply the better boxer – which, in [checks notes] a boxing match, is something of an advantage. If he can control things with his crisp jab and stick to a gameplan, he could have Wardley in all sorts of bother.
Plus there will be a hold-your-breath moment of what happens when each man first connects flush with the other. I’m covering every base here.
Donald McRae
After a while it’s easy to get jaded when boxing is such a messy old business … and then, just when you’re least expecting it, you get to watch a stunning couple of rounds and you see a brutal kind of joy. Zak Chelli’s KO of David Morrell was as shocking as it was compelling. I went for a little walk after the fight and, at the back of the arena, away from the crowd, Chelli walked past. His face was a picture of rapture as he exclaimed that he had just done what even David Benavidez could not manage.
Last year, Morrell suffered the only previous loss of his career when the imposing Benavidez beat him on points. Morrell also knocked down Benavidez, one of the most feared fighters on the planet. But giving hope to supply teachers everywhere, and the rest of us, Chelli produced an astonishing stoppage. It was a reminder of how boxing can transform fighters’ lives in the most positive ways – but Chelli managed to keep some kind of perspective when confirming that he will be back at school in Fulham on Monday morning. His life, however, has changed after this searing stoppage.
Meanwhile, Daniel Dubois has arrived late at the Co-op Live. Last July, when he was crushed by Oleksandr Usyk in five rounds, Dubois’ arrival was preceded by a party he and his father held at the family home. It was a disastrous slice of lunacy and Dubois was given a pitiless lesson in the realities of heavyweight boxing by the majestic Usyk. But tonight the latest Dubois delay is being blamed less on partying than the clogged old Manchester traffic …
Zak Chelli’s life has changed after a searing stoppage. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA
“It’ll be Britain’s answer to Hagler-Hearns,” promises Frank Warren of Wardley-Dubois – admittedly, as promoter of both heavyweights, a somewhat biased source.
An eight-minute war for our times? I wouldn’t say no, though a few more rounds would be welcome. (I’ve just basically dismissed the greatest short fight in boxing history, there – what sacred cow is next?)
Rea defeats Cameron by fourth-round knockout!
Brad Rea gets back to winning ways with a tasty stoppage of the popular Liam Cameron. The hometown light-heavyweight ends a one-sided contest in style for probably the biggest victory of his career.
Cameron showed plenty of heart getting up after he was clubbed to the canvas in round four. But Rea was all over him, putting his punches together well to force another knockdown and the referee to wisely step in. An impressive finish by the “Sting” Rae.
Liam Cameron is put down by Brad Rea Boxing. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters
Donald McRae sat down with the articulate Fabio Wardley pre-fight – and the interview is as engaging as you’d expect, covering everything from Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua to the dangers of PEDs in boxing. Get involved.
“A real Rocky moment for Zak Chelli,” reckons Carl Frampton. It certainly was – the full-time supply teacher/boxer will be the talk of his school on Monday morning.
Chelli defeats Morrell by 10th-round knockout!
Wow! We’ve had a stunning stoppage victory already in Manchester – and it isn’t the main event. Fulham’s Zak Chelli, a supply teacher by trade, has produced a sensational upset to defeat the Cuban former world champion David Morrell.
That is a result few saw coming. Morrell was winning the light-heavyweight contest after eight rounds but Chelli rocked him with a huge right hand in round nine. Chelli was all over him but Morrell saw it through to the bell – only to have the underdog leap into action at the start of the final round and bludgeon the favourite to defeat in the corner. Remarkable.
Zak Chelli knocks out David Morrell in the 10th and final round. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Zak Chelli celebrates his come-from-behind victory. Photograph: Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Donald McRae
The Co-op Live arena is right next door to the Etihad Stadium. I walked past Manchester City’s home ground, with the crowd roaring in the final few minutes of their game against Brentford, and it felt a relief that the boxing tonight is inside. It’s pretty cold in Manchester this evening but that didn’t stop a few of the City security guards jumping around in glee when a very late goal made it 3-0. But attention is now firmly back on the boxing and the Co-op already feels crammed with a sold-out crowd.
It’s the least that Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois deserve for a fight that could be one of the most explosive and compelling heavyweight contests of the year. There is also a decent undercard and the celebs are drifting in slowly. Luke Littler has arrived but I was more interested to see Moses Itauma at ringside. I interviewed him a couple of months ago in Manchester. It was initially a bit of a challenge to get him to open up but, eventually, we got somewhere.
I think Itauma is the most interesting heavyweight at the moment – just as I think this fight between Wardley and Dubois is far more intriguing than the Fury v Joshua extravaganza later this year. That overblown scrap is about six or seven years too late. Tonight should be a tad more timely – and Itauma is backing his gym-mate, Wardley, to stop Dubois. We shall see …
Preview time: Donald McRae has set the scene as only he can. The undercard is under way but I encourage you to give this a read before the main event. Don will be providing us updates from ringside in Manchester.
Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley are very different characters but, in the ring, they share a knockout ratio of 95% in the combined 42 fights they have won. The unbeaten Wardley has knocked out 19 opponents in his 20 victories while Dubois has stopped 21 of 22 vanquished rivals. It’s an impressive statistic which belies the vulnerability at the heart of each man.
Wardley, the WBO world heavyweight champion, comes from a white-collar boxing background with minimal experience as an amateur. The only blemish on his record is a draw in March 2024 with the Olympic medallist Frazer Clarke – whom he then knocked out with shocking brutality in the first round seven months later.
Preamble
This blockbuster all-British heavyweight showdown is taglined “Don’t Blink” – and not because the promoter Frank Warren fears viewers might start to nod off when their eyelids droop. Rather the message is that Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois, who have 40 knockouts in their combined 42 professional wins, both have the power to demolish one another at any moment.
For all their obvious similarities as 6ft 5in punchers with leaky defences, there are striking differences too. Ipswich’s Wardley, the WBO champ after the belt was stripped from Oleksandr Usyk, is boxing’s latest Cinderella story. A former recruitment specialist who turned pro with zero official amateur fights, Wardley’s iron will, chin and gift for self-improvement have taken him to an unbeaten 20-0-1 (19 KOs) record and to unforeseen heights.
Dubois’ amateur career was short but highly promising and he, unlike Wardley, can look a superbly balanced boxer with a dynamite jab to complement his thunderous right hand. Just ask Anthony Joshua about both. Yet the Londoner’s mentality and versatility have been questioned in the losses to Joe Joyce and Usyk (twice) that blemish his 22-3 (21 KOs) record.
Those defeats came against excellent amateurs, however – and in Usyk’s case an all-time great pro. He’s never lost to a fighter as awkward but rudimentary as Wardley. Fabio, of course, has never lost at all.
It’s a delicious setup for what should be a barnburner in Manchester’s catchily titled Co-op Live arena. We’re expecting the first bell between 10.30pm and 11pm (BST), though likely closer to the latter. Do stay with us!
